October
2, 2003

EDITORIAL

Last
days for Grinnell Mill

Antioch University
is running out of time to save Grinnell Mill from destruction. It has
until Monday, Oct. 6, to come up with a plan to preserve the historic
structure. That’s just four days to keep the mill standing. That’s
not a lot of time.

The mill, which was
originally built in 1812, is a noteworthy, historic landmark, and as its
owner and steward, Antioch has a responsibility to conserve a piece of
Yellow Springs’ history. Otherwise, Grinnell Mill will go the troubling
way of other beloved buildings, like the Yellow Springs Opera House, which
were neglected and finally lost.

Earlier this summer,
the Miami Township fire chief, Colin Altman, declared the mill a fire
and safety hazard and ordered Antioch to repair the property or face hefty
daily fines. Antioch cannot sustain such fines, however, and has been
trying to secure a deal to either sell or lease the mill to someone who
could rehab it. Despite a summer of intense negotiations, talks broke
down last month between the university and the one local resident who
had a solid plan for the mill.

Glenn Watts, the
Antioch vice chancellor in charge of negotiations for the mill, bluntly
said this week that the university does not have the money to save the
mill, and as of Wednesday, no one had come forward with a last-minute
offer. If Monday’s deadline passes without some kind of deal, Mr.
Watts said, Antioch will start advertising for people to salvage the mill’s
wood. Mr. Watts said that Antioch might be able to use some of the wood
on the Covered Bridge, another popular landmark in the Glen that has been
the victim of repeated vandalism.

With Antioch facing
a deficit of more than $1 million, Mr. Watts said, the mill is a lower
priority. After all, as Mr. Watts said, Antioch’s primary mission
is education and “salvaging the mill doesn’t fit into that
equation.” That’s a sad, hard truth. That’s also why
Antioch, whose resources are stretched so thin, would have been better
off selling the mill long before the fire department gave the university
its strong ultimatum.